CAPTAIN’S STRIKE
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos struck another late winner as the European champions usurped Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Real Betis on Sunday.
Earlier, Barca boss Luis Enrique accepted his side had struggled to shrug off the euphoria of a remarkable Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain as the Spanish champions slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at Deportivo la Coruna.
Victory for Madrid moves Real two points clear of Barcelona and with a game in hand still to come. However, Madrid’s win was mired in controversy as goalkeeper Keylor Navas was extremely lucky to avoid an early red card before making a brilliant stoppage time save to deny Antonio Sanabria. Navas clearly cleaned out Darko Brasanac on the edge of the Madrid area as he raced from his goal after just 20 minutes, but referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz inexplicably waived play on.
The hosts didn’t benefit from Navas’s presence just four minutes later, though, as he bundled Sarabia’s shot into his own goal having appeared to have the effort under control. Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Madrid went in level at the break as he rose unmarked to power home Marcelo’s cross from close range for his 26th goal of the season. The visitors’ chances of escaping with a point were dealt a huge blow when Cristiano Piccini saw a second yellow card 12 minutes from time.
And just three minutes later, fresh from scoring two vital away goals at Napoli to ease Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, Ramos powered home another Toni Kroos header for the winner. Betis could still have salvaged a point, but Navas made amends for his early mistakes with a brilliant stop from Sanabria’s powerful header. “This is a very complicated stadium where the demands are infinite and when players make mistakes they need support. Keylor saved us at the end and I’m happy he has recovered from their goal,” Ramos said. “It was a strange game, we did some things well but Betis defended well and they scored with the few chances they had which put us up against it, but it was vital to win today to go top.”
Real lead the standings on 62 points, Barca are second with 60 after suffering a 2-1 loss at Deportivo, and Sevilla are third on 57 following a 1-1 draw at home to Leganes on Saturday, while Real have a game in hand on their title rivals. Zidane’s side also have a game in hand on Barca and third-placed Sevilla in their bid for a first Liga title since 2012. Betis were the third team in four games to take the lead against Real after Las Palmas and Napoli and on each occasion Zidane’s side got back in the game with a goal from a set piece. —